Prithviraj Sukumaran Reveals Why He Met The Real-Life Najeeb Only On The Last Day Of Shoot

Prithviraj Sukumaran starrer Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) has been receiving praises from critics and audiences alike. In the film, Prithviraj portrayed the role of Najeeb Muhammed who got stranded amid endless dunes and herds of goats in Saudi Arabia. In a recent interview, Prithviraj Sukumaran revealed that he didn’t meet the real-life Najeeb Muhammed until the last day of the shoot.

Prithviraj Sukumaran talks about meeting Najeeb

Sharing his process behind this decision, Prithviraj Sukumaran said, "When you need to play a real-life character and when that character is still alive and among us, the first instinct is to meet the person, talk to them, and observe their mannerisms to emulate. However, Blessy advised me against it. He said, ‘No, don’t do that. You’ve read the book and the screenplay, so now you’re intelligent enough to understand the process and what we're trying to achieve.’ The first time I spoke to Najeeb was after completing the final shot for Aadujeevitham. We had invited Najeeb to our location that day, and when Blessy called for the cut and wrap, Najeeb was behind the camera."

He further added, "I specifically asked him about five or six instances and what he was thinking, what was going through his mind. It was almost a spiritual connection when he shared his thoughts, and I realized I had similar thoughts. I have to thank Blessy for shooting it in a way where he often told me, ‘I won't call cut. When you feel you're done, you can just say.’"

The Goat Life's box office performance

Prithiviraj Sukumaran starrer Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life opened to a great start at the box office with a collection of ₹7.60 crore in India, as per Sacnilk. On its second day, the film's collection dropped to ₹6.50 crore, showing a downfall of 14.08 percent. Now, the total collection of the film stands at ₹14.10 crore. Meanwhile, Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life had an overall 75.09 percent Malayalam occupancy on Friday.